"Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." - Roger the Shrubber

"Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." - Roger the Shrubber

Scott, I used virtually the same materials (just 100% cotton batting instead of the bamboo blend) and I use mine for living history. Even if you machine stitch it, no one will really see those parts anyway. It's well worth doing this project, I love mine. I totally just winged the pattern though, and it took some fudging here and there and last minute cutting and re-sewing to make it fit right. A flat quilted aventail does not translate well to a 3d bloused aventail as I found out

As for most sewing projects where a pattern is not readily available, I’ll create a test piece (or six) before using my good fabrics.

I know a simple circle is not the correct answer, but I’ll start there. I cut out a circle a little larger than the circumference of my aventail fully stretched out (approx. 1"). Then I’ll cut a smaller circle out of the center, this being about the circumference of the bascinet.

I’ll have to add a second piece to account for the 2” rise under my vervelles. This rise is 4” for the length of the face opening. The total length of this piece will be the circumference of the bascinet (plus seam allowance). As always, add an extra inch for the fudge factor. You can always trim it off later.

To make the pieces match up, I had to cut a dart (triangle, about 4” on a side) out of the circular piece of fabric . For the final pattern I’ll have to remember to remove 4 darts of 1” length spaced equally around the circumference.

"Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." - Roger the Shrubber

The initial test fit proved that I’m on the right track, but not quite there yet.

Some things I discovered:- The fit of the fabric band over the vervelles must be perfect and tight or the leather aventail band will not fit properly.- I need to add 2” to the exterior radius of the circular piece of fabric; even a touch more if seam allowance and padding/quilting is taken into account.- The 4 darts will need to be approximately 1” wide by 3” long for a proper look and fit.

"Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." - Roger the Shrubber

I found the “circle & ring” design lacking, so it’s back to the drawing board. I carefully cut apart pattern #1 at the North, South East & West points (using my nose as North).

Using these pieces I came up with pattern #2 which is 4 “pieces of pizza with the point nibbled off”. Two pieces, the left-front and right-front, extend a little longer to the center of the “pizza” to account for the mail rising up in front of the chin.

This pattern seems to fit much better. I still need to add another inch to the outer edge of all 4 pieces and I need to add a little more height in the area near the face opening. Even with these two minor adjustments, I feel confident moving on to the linen fabric next.

"Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." - Roger the Shrubber

"Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." - Roger the Shrubber

With the initial wash and dry out of the way, it’s time for cutting. Four pieces were cut out and basted “right side” together.

The piece was then pulled down snugly over the bascinet. Small slits had to be cut into the fabric to allow this to happen. When everything was aligned just right, I used a fabric pencil to mark the locations of the vervelles. These are barely visible as white dots in the second photo.

"Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." - Roger the Shrubber

I am in awe at your abilities to turn textiles into something good looking and functional; you and Ian.

Logged

The Black Knight, Order of the Marshal'Per Pale Azure and Sable, a Chevron counterchanged fimbriated argent.' “Pride makes a man, it drives him, it is the shield wall around his reputation. Men die, but reputation does not.”

"Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." - Roger the Shrubber

"Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." - Roger the Shrubber